Donny were right down at the bottom for weeks but a good run of results following the appointment of Dean Saunders had seen them pull out of those relegation places. There was suddenly confidence in South Yorkshire that they could push right up the table.
That they may do, but for now they are going to have to fight their way back out of the bottom three after suffering a heavy 3-0 home defeat to Leeds on Friday.
They slipped back down because Coventry beat Nottingham Forest and Millwall got a surprise point at Middlesbrough. Coventry's win saw them swap places with Forest who, with Steve Cotterill taking over today, are now next to bottom, below Doncaster on goal difference and two points ahead of managerless Bristol City on goal difference.
Millwall's draw meant changes at the top as well as the bottom with Middlesbrough being replaced in the automatic promotion places by West Ham. who had the biggest win of the day against Blackpool.
There's been some obsession over West Ham's inability to win home games, but this was their third victory at the Boleyn Ground. If there is a club up there who are clearly struggling to get points at home then it's Middlesbrough who must be thankful for their very impressive away record.
They have more points than anyone on the road but Saturday's draw was their fifth in six home games. Still, they remain the only unbeaten club in the league and are only behind West Ham on goal difference.
If Forest are the big surprise for me down near the bottom then it's Hull and Crystal Palace when I look at the clubs in the top section of the table. Palace, in particular, I expected to struggle but they scored two superb goals to record their third away win of the season at struggling Watford.
Finally, well done to Birmingham yesterday. Their season is suffering disruptions because of the Europa League and again this week they miss out on a fixture, but their win against Leicester yesterday means they remain the only club in the division who have scored in every game.
The results, fixtures and the usual stats are shown below.
The Weekend Results | |
Friday 14th October | |
Doncaster Rovers 0 Leeds United 3 | |
Saturday 15th October | |
Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Hull City 0 | Derby County 1 Southampton 1 |
Bristol City 1 Peterborough United 2 | Middlesbrough 1 Millwall 1 |
Burnley 0 Reading 1 | Portsmouth 2 Barnsley 0 |
Cardiff City 2 Ipswich Town 2 | Watford 1 Crystal Palace 2 |
Coventry City 1 Nottingham Forest 0 | West Ham United 4 Blackpool 0 |
Sunday 16th October | |
Birmingham City 2 Leicester City 0 |
The Weekend Stats | |
Biggest Win |
West Ham United 4-0 v Blackpool (home) |
Total Goals Scored | 27 (15 home - 12 away) |
Player Scoring Most Goals |
2 - Sam Baldock (West Ham United) |
Highest Attendance | 33,010 - Derby County v Southampton |
Lowest Attendance | 11,261 - Portsmouth v Barnsley |
Total Yellow Cards | 34 |
Total Red Cards | 1 |
Most Cards in a Game | Bristol City v Peterborough United (5Y) Ref: Lee Coote Derby County v Southampton (5Y) Ref: Mark Brown |
Leading Goalscorers (League Only) | |
9 | Rickie Lambert (Southampton) - includes 3 penalties Ross McCormack (Leeds United) |
8 | Chris Wood (Birmingham City) |
6 | Charlie Austin (Burnley) |
5 | Ashley Barnes (Brighton & Hove Albion) - includes 2 penalties Steve Davies (Derby County) - includes 1 penalty Michael Chopra (Ipswich Town) Marvin Emnes (Middlesbrough) Lukas Jutkiewicz (Coventry City) Craig Mackail-Smith (Brighton & Hove Albion) Kevin Phillips (Blackpool) |
4 | Keith Andrews (Ipswich Town) Carlton Cole (West Ham United) David Connolly (Southampton) Adam Lallana (Southampton) Grant McCann (Peterborough United) - includes 1 penalty Gary Taylor-Fletcher (Blackpool) Lee Tomlin (Peterborough United) |
Hat Tricks | |
Date | Player & Game |
20/08/11 | 3: Lee Tomlin - PETERBOROUGH UNITED v Ipswich Town |
10/09/11 | 3: Rickie Lambert - SOUTHAMPTON v Nottingham Forest |
11/09/11 | 3: Chris Wood - BIRMINGHAM CITY v Millwall |
Disciplinary Record (League and Cup) | |||||||||
Club | Y | R | Y | R | Club | Y | R | Y | R |
League | Total | League | Total | ||||||
Barnsley | 16 | 0 | 17 | 0 | Ipswich Town | 13 | 2 | 13 | 2 |
Birmingham City | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | Leeds United | 20 | 4 | 24 | 4 |
Blackpool | 22 | 0 | 23 | 1 | Leicester City | 20 | 3 | 24 | 3 |
Brighton and Hove Albion | 29 | 1 | 35 | 1 | Middlesbrough | 16 | 2 | 17 | 2 |
Bristol City | 18 | 0 | 19 | 0 | Millwall | 22 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
Burnley | 13 | 1 | 17 | 1 | Nottingham Forest | 15 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
Cardiff City | 12 | 0 | 18 | 0 | Peterborough United | 15 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
Coventry City | 10 | 1 | 11 | 1 | Portsmouth | 23 | 2 | 26 | 2 |
Crystal Palace | 15 | 0 | 17 | 0 | Reading | 13 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
Derby County | 17 | 1 | 17 | 1 | Southampton | 11 | 1 | 11 | 1 |
Doncaster Rovers | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 | Watford | 14 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
Hull City | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | West Ham United | 14 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
Highest and Lowest Attendances | |||
Highest | Lowest | ||
Att | Fixture | Att | Fixture |
33,465 | West Ham United v Portsmouth (10/09) | 7,778 | Doncaster Rovers v Bristol City (27/08) |
33,010 | Derby County v Southampton (15/10) | 7,901 | Peterborough United v Burnley (17/09) |
31,448 | West Ham United v Blackpool (15/10) | 7,928 | Peterborough United v Ipswich Town (20/08) |
29,895 | West Ham United v Peterborough United (24/09) | 8,500 | Peterborough United v Doncaster Rovers (01/10) |
28,252 | West Ham United v Leeds United (21/08) | 8,685 | Peterborough United v Hull City (10/09) |
27,709 | West Ham United v Ipswich Town (27/09) | 9,362 | Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace (24/09) |
27,356 | Nottingham Forest v Derby County (17/09) | 9,464 | Doncaster Rovers v Nottingham Forest (16/08) |
27,210 | Derby County v Birmingham City (06/08) | 9,497 | Barnsley v Coventry City (01/10) |
25,860 | Southampton v Leeds United (06/08) | 9,733 | Barnsley v Watford (17/09) |
25,680 | West Ham United v Cardiff City (07/08) | 9,786 | Doncaster Rovers v Hull City (27/09) |
The Next Fixtures | |
Tuesday 18th October | |
Barnsley v Burnley | Millwall v Brighton & Hove Albion |
Blackpool v Doncaster Rovers (20:00) | Nottingham Forest v Middlesbrough |
Crystal Palace v Bristol City (20:00) | Peterborough United v Cardiff City |
Ipswich Town v Portsmouth | Reading v Derby County (20:00) |
Leeds United v Coventry City | Southampton v West Ham United |
Wednesday 19th October | |
Leicester City v Watford |